Blind dates
by AgentOfShip
Summary: Fitz and Simmons both reluctantly agree to a blind date on Valentine's day. But as they both go in expecting to be terribly disappointed, they're actually in for quite a few surprises. AU where Fitz and Simmons never met.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for this bad summary that sounds a bit like a click bait article but I'm really bad at it and I didn't want to spoil too much of the story ^^**

 **I loved writing an Halloween and a Christmas story so I thought I'd try my hand on a Valentine's day story. This story should have three more chapters (probably quite a bit longer than this one). Hope you'll enjoy it and I'd love a review if you did. I'm also open for any suggestions for my next "themed" story since those are always a lot of fun! (Keeping in mind that I only write about Fitzsimmons, not that I don't like the other characters but FS really are my main inspiration!)**

 *****update*** this is just a repost of the first chapter with a few corrections, thanks a lot to DaLiza for pointing them out to me! Next chapter should be up tomorrow, it just needs to be re-read ;-)**

"Why am I putting myself through this again?" Jemma thought. She was really smart and pretty with an above average fashion sense. Surely she didn't anyone to fix her up with a man. She was perfectly able of getting a date on her own. Of course, if she was completely honest, the problem wasn't attracting men -she did get a lot of attention from the opposite sex- it was finding one who could hold her interest long enough for him to be a potential boyfriend. Of course Skye had repeated over and over that the man was a fellow scientist, like it made him automatically interesting. Most of Jemma's dates for the last ten years had been fellow scientists -it's not like she had the time to meet people outside of work anyway- and still, even if a few of them had been interesting enough to become boyfriends, it never lasted very long. Somehow she would either get bored or they would feel threatened by her intelligence.

Yet here she was getting ready for a blind date, on Valentine's day of all days. Even when she did have a boyfriend around this time of year, she never really celebrated it. She never liked the pressure of having to be romantic at all costs on a specific day. She much preferred the idea of surprising or being surprised by small romantic gestures all year long when it didn't feel forced. She blamed Skye for taking advantage of a small moment of weakness that lead her to accept tonight's date. Even a modern independent young woman such as herself will end up giving her chance to a perfect stranger after spending a whole evening watching British romantic comedies with her best friend. At first she thought it was a genuinely nice gesture from Skye after she told her she'd been feeling homesick lately, but now that she thought back on it, it was probably a plot to finally make her agree to a date with this colleague of her.

As she walked towards the door to her apartment, she gave one last look at herself in the mirror. She didn't even know why she put so much effort into her clothes, hair and make-up and wore such ridiculously high heels. Whoever that man was, he very probably didn't deserve it. She realized it was probably a little bitter and pessimistic to think that but she'd broken up with her last boyfriend almost two years ago and every date she's had ever since had been one disappointment after the other so really what were the chances of tonight's date being any different. Actually, given all the necessary datas, she could probably do the maths on that, which would likely make for a much more interesting evening. It would probably also lead her to the conclusion that even New York wasn't a big enough city for her to find someone compatible.

After checking her phone, she went back to get her scarf and gloves. It was supposed to get really cold tonight. She put the gloves in her handbag, her coat and scarf on herself and with a big sigh, she opened the door to her apartment and got out.

-0-0-0-

"How could I be so weak?" Fitz told himself as he checked the time for the hundredth since he arrived. Agreeing on a blind date was already bad, especially after swearing -well drunkenly declare really- less than two months ago that he would stop searching for the woman of his dreams and wait for fate to put her in his way. But agreeing to go shopping with Bobbi and actually buying a ridiculously overpriced suit only because her and that lady from the shop kept telling how good he looked in it, made him feel like he hit a new low in his life.

He hadn't been really lucky in his love life but he still felt like he should be able to find someone on his own, without the help of his friends. The blue eyes and blond curly hair that used to make him look so much younger than his actual age now gave a kind of boyish charm, at least that's what his friends told him. He wasn't quite as shy as he used to be when he was sixteen and he felt like, most of the time, his way above average intelligence was now an advantage to get the interest from members of the opposite sex. Although, it sometimes felt like a bit of a curse because it was incredibly hard to find someone who could hold his interest, even when his date was a fellow scientist like the woman he was meeting tonight.

The woman in question, who was supposed to be his soulmate if he believed Hunter and Bobbi, was already ten minutes late. As he looked up from his phone once more to check if he couldn't see someone fitting her description, he wondered if ten minutes was enough for him to consider that he'd been stood up, thus making it alright to go home and watch that documentary about the Amazon he had planned on watching tonight before agreeing on this date. He knew it was Valentine's day and he was supposed to be hopeful about love and in a romantic mood but really the only thing that stopped him from canceling that date at the last minute was his education. His mother raised him to be a decent young man and ditching someone at the last minute would have really felt like a dick move. Also, Bobbi would have been mad at him and she was a scary woman. Which was pretty unfair when he thought about it because she was the one who almost forced him to go on this date when he was definitely less than enthusiastic about it, insisting that the chances of just stumbling on the woman of his dreams were really low and he should be proactive about it. He had actually done the maths about those chances but she didn't seem to be impressed so somehow he gave her his go-ahead to arrange this date.

As he was actually considering sending Hunter a text to ask him how long he should wait before leaving, he looked up towards the door and saw a woman enter and walk in his direction. She perfectly fit the description that Bobbi and Hunter gave him. At least they didn't lie about her being pretty, if the rest was also true maybe this date wouldn't turn out as bad as he thought.

"Let's do this" He told himself before pocketing his phone and started walking to meet her halfway, hoping the smile he had placated on his face didn't feel too forced.

-0-0-0-

"Okay last chance of turning back" Jemma told herself as she stopped in front of the restaurant. She had thought of canceling this date a few times already. She had to wake up extra early this morning and it would be the same the next day so she really wasn't extra enthusiastic about staying up late tonight. To be honest she was much more enthusiastic about the idea of going home and catch this documentary about the Amazon she heard a lot of good about. But she knew that if she cancelled now, she would never hear the end of it. Skye would make her life a living hell for days and even though, she didn't know the man, she would have felt bad doing something like this at the last minute anyway. So instead, she decided to go in and if it went bad, at least it would prevent Skye from trying to fix her up with anyone, hopefully for good this time.

As she got to the bar area where they were supposed to meet, she saw a man fitting Skye's description, looking down at his phone. He did look good, at least from this angle, Jemma thought. She started walking towards him and after a few seconds, he looked up and smiled at her. When they met halfway, she extended her hand with a small smile.

"Hello, I'm Jemma Simmons and you must be ..."

"Hi, I'm Milton, nice to meet you Jemma"

"Nice to meet you too"

-0-0-0-

When he finally made his way to her through the crowded bar, he extended his hand to shake hers.

"Hi, I'm Fitz and you must be ..."

"I'm Emily. Hi. It's nice to finally meet you" She said with a warm smile.

"And you ..." He answered smiling back.


	2. Chapter 2

As she ran to catch her train home -which was no small feat in those shoes- Jemma told herself she was really glad that she decided to go on this date with Milton after all. It had gone well beyond her expectations. She finally had an evening she could use as the ultimate reason to give to anyone for refusing to be fixed up on a blind date. Mostly to Skye actually, other people were never as insistant as she was and were able to take no for an answer. If she played her cards right, it might even earn her a few favors from her best friend, considering what a terrible night she's had because of her.

Once she was on board her train, she found a seat easily. It was quite late already so the train was mostly empty save for the usual Valentine's day crowd: a few well dressed smiling people who looked like they clearly had a better night than she had, the group of girls who decided to celebrate being single by going out and get drunk to forget that they were single, a few annoyingly happy looking couples and a few people who looked like they just had as bad a time as she had.

As she watched outside the window and saw that it was starting to snow, she reveled in the idea that she only had a ten minutes ride, a few minutes walk and then she would be home. She planned on kicking her heels the minute she got into her apartment and then she could watch the snow fall through the bathroom window as she relaxed into a scorching hot bath where she would probably fall asleep in less than five minutes.

As the train was nearing her stop, Jemma got up and went to the closest door. There was only one other person apparently getting off at her stop. He's had his back to her the whole ride so she hadn't noticed him until now. He was kind of cute with his really smart but a bit disheveled black suit. And he didn't even wear a coat or scarf when it was so cold outside. With his stubbled cheeks, curly blond hair and pretty blue eyes, he looked like someone out of a music video. Actually, as she discreetly looked at him once more, she decided that he was even a bit more than just cute.

"That's weird" Jemma thought as the train was getting into the station and it didn't feel like it was slowing down. And as she was ready to push the "open" button, the train got into the station and got out of it without stopping for a second.

"What the hell?" She said out loud just at the same time as the cute stranger.

Her head snapped towards him, startled both by their synchronicity and the stranger's strong Scottish accent. Even if her mind was currently mostly occupied by the fact that her nice hot bath was rapidly moving away from her, she couldn't help feeling a pang of nostalgia at the sound of his voice and her home sickness of late came crashing back to her for a second.

"The train was supposed to stop there right?" She asked him as she saw that he was obviously as surprised as she was. For a second, she thought she saw a bit of surprise in his eyes when he heard her own accent.

"Yes of course ... I'm a hundred percents positive that it was supposed to stop here" He said with an exasperated sigh as he leaned against the door.

"Oh okay because I had to run to catch it and honestly I'm no longer sure if I saw where this train was stopping ..." She said and it obviously made him think again.

"Well me too actually but I'm pretty sure I looked anyway ... I always look ... okay let's say I'm ninety percents sure ..." He said biting his lip, the look on his face contradicting his words and she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

"... eighty percents at worst ..." He added after a few seconds and they both chuckled good-heartedly.

"Well at least it's the perfect end to a really perfect evening!" She said as she flopped back down onto the closest seat available.

"Bad date?" He asked with a small sympathetic smile as he sat facing her.

"What makes you think that?" She answered with an amused smile.

"Well you look all ... you know ... dressed up and-and ... pretty ..." He started, blushing slightly, which she found rather sweet. "And you were obviously being sarcastic so ..."

"Someone's smart ..." She said, her smile growing a bit bigger and he smiled back. "Smarter than stupid Milton anyway ..." She added in a very bad attempt at an american accent and he burst out laughing. He was even cuter when he laughed.

-0-0-0-

A few minutes later, as the train was nearing the next stop, they both got ready to get out once more and once more, the train didn't slow down and passed the station without stopping. They exchanged a desperate look and sighed in unison before going back to their seat.

"Do you, by any chance, remember if this train was supposed to stop somewhere else between our stop and the end of the line?" He asked flatly.

"I do not ..." She answered, shaking her head negatively.

"Yeah me neither ... But that's nice, I've actually never been this far down the line. Maybe I'll get to discover a nice new neighborhood, might get something interesting out this evening after all ..." He said, his accent getting even thicker than it was a minute ago and she couldn't help smiling at this. It actually felt nice hearing someone speak with an accent from home. And she felt a bit guilty about it, but it actually made her feel better to know that at least one person was having as bad an evening as she was.

"So bad date as well?" She asked with a small smile.

"What makes _you_ think that?" He answered with a mischievous grin that told her she was obviously right but she still humored him.

"Well with the whole double O seven look ..." She said, making a vague gesture to point at his whole outfit. "... you're either a super spy or coming back from a date somewhere extra fancy. And since I don't remember James Bond having to ride the subway, well ..." She finished with a raised eyebrow and he sighed once more.

"Yeah and he never went on a blind date either ..." He said, rolling his eyes.

"So that bad?"

"Well you suggesting the suit makes me look like a super spy is actually the highlight of this evening ..." He said with a smirk.

"Ouch ..." She said tilting her head to the side in a sympathetic gesture.

"Have you ever been so bored that you started counting how many times someone said the same word?" He added, obviously needing to let out some steam after such a disappointing evening, which she totally understood. "Forty-two bloody times and not once correctly!" He added and she chuckled. He sounded like such a typical grumpy scotsman, which was a rather funny contrast to his otherwise angelic features and soft voice.

"I mean how hard is it to understand what literally actually means? Unless her heart really _literally_ exploded when she saw how cute that baby was ... and in that case being annoying is the least of her problems!" He added and Jemma burst out laughing. For a few seconds, he tried to look at her with a reproachful look but her laugh was contagious and he soon didn't have a choice but to join her.

"Sorry for having a good laugh out of your misery but I've been bored out of my mind all evening and you really are quite funny!" She said with a small smile after a few minutes.

"'s alright. At least something good came out of it." He said, smiling back warmly.

"God, I'm starving ..." He said after a few minutes of companionable silence. "You know, I used to watch a lot of american shows growing up and the one thing that stuck with me was that they always serve huge portions in their restaurants. But apparently I managed to find the restaurant that serves the most ridiculously small portions in all of New York." He said pouting. And the way he looked like a child who'd just been denied sweets was kind of adorable. She was usually attracted to more "manly" men but he had a whole cute and sassy thing going on that she found quite endearing.

After a few second's hesitation, she opened her bag and fished an elegant golden cardboard box out of it. She untied the ribbon tied around it and opened the box. She took one of the chocolates that was in it and held out the box to the cute stranger, inviting him to take one as well with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. He looked at her in surprise for a few seconds before his lips curled up in a teasing grin.

"My mom always told me not to accept food from strangers ..." He said, his grin now getting wider. His intentions were written very clearly over his face but she actually didn't mind. So after gently rolling her eyes at him, she extended her hand to him.

"I'm Jemma Simmons, nice to meet you ..." She said for the second time this evening.

"Fitz ... I'm Leopold Fitz ... please call me Fitz!" He said as he quickly shook her hand before picking a chocolate out of her box and eating it with an appreciative smile.

"Nice to meet you Jemma" He added once he swallowed the chocolate. "And thank you!" He said with a warm smile and she held out the box to him once more. This time, he didn't have to be told twice.

-0-0-0-

They spent the next twenty five minutes engaged in the most pleasant small talk Fitz has had in a while. He'd never been good at it, as tonight's date proved it once more, but somehow the pretty stranger, Jemma, made it a lot easier. Maybe because her accent reminded him of home or maybe because she didn't seem put out by his slightly grumpy temper, if anything she apparently found it funny. Whatever the reason, these were the nicest twenty five minutes he's had that night - or even that day ... or week- and when he felt the train finally starting to slow down, he was almost disappointed because it meant that he would soon have to say goodbye.

"We're finally stopping!" He said as he got up from his seat and she followed him to the door. "Are you ready to run?" He asked with a big smile.

"To run?" She answered with a questioning look.

"Yeah, there's a train coming the other way, if we run, we might just be able to catch it and not wait god knows how long for the next one!" He said, getting ready to push the "open" button.

"That's a really good plan but if I run in those shoes, I will _literally_ kill myself ..." She said with a small grin and he rolled her eyes at her, which made her laugh again. She really had a pretty laugh. "Okay, I will most likely break an ankle but still ..." She said with an apologetic smile.

After a second's hesitation, he offered his arm to her. "Just hang on to me then" He said with a timid smile.

"Noooo ... you should run, you'll be faster on your own, you have a better chance to catch it" She said, visibly hesitating so he thought it was okay to insist a bit.

"No really, it's alright. And I'm not gonna let a fellow countrywoman stranded here in what is probably ... a _very nice_ neighborhood." He said wincing comically and she gracefully accepted his arm with a small knowing smile.

"Ready?" He asked as the train was finally getting to a stop.

"Ready!"

The second the doors unlocked, he pushed the "open" button and they got out. After a quick look on both sides, they saw that the stairs going down towards the exit and back up to the other platform were on the right so they started running. Jemma apparently did her best to run but in those shoes and with the snow that had started accumulating, she was less than graceful and after a few meters, Fitz couldn't hold back his laugh.

"Hey I'd like to see you run in those!" She said with an offended tone but after Fitz stopped her from falling, even she had to admit that she probably looked a bit ridiculous and started laughing as well. As they were running up the other side, the stairs were quite slippery so Jemma grabbed on to him a bit tighter and even slipped her hand in his and he tried his best to hide the small grin that made its way on his face.

When they got to the platform, the train was still at a stop and they managed to get in. They flopped down on the closest seats, laughing breathlessly.

"Thank you!" She said with a big smile, giving his hand one last squeeze before letting go of it. "I stand by what I said earlier, I would have most likely killed myself running in _those_ _stupid_ shoes in _this_ weather" She added and he grinned back.

"It was my genuine pleasure ... and I needed the exercice anyway" He answered.

Once they caught their breath, they finally realized that they really didn't need to run because the train was still at a stop.

"Hu ... Why aren't we moving yet?" She asked, visibly confused.

"Yeah that's weird ... also looks like we're the only people left in this train ..." He said as he looked both ways and didn't see another passenger. He got up to see if there was anyone or anything on the platform that could explain that and that's when he saw someone wearing the very recognizable outfit of a train driver.

"Hey guys, you have to get off!" The man said with a very strong New-Yorker accent. "there's been an accident down the line 'cause of the snow, traffic won't start again before morning!" He added before quickening his pace again to get out of the platform.

"What ..." Fitz started as he turned to Jemma and when he saw the look of pure despair on her face, he almost felt worse for her than he felt for himself. He offered his hand once more to help her stand up and she took it gladly. "Come on, let's get out before we get stuck inside a train on top of everything!" He said and she gave him a small soft smile. Not that he would mind getting stuck _with her_ anywhere.

 **So I don't know how believable it is that a train line would stop working because of the snow in New York but it is totally believable where I live (Paris) so for the sake of the story I had in mind, I decided to apply it to New York!**

 **Oh and the "double O seven" look for Fitz is obviously from the episode Singularity because he looked gorgeous dressed like this and I really think they should give him more occasions to wear that suit in the show ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took me so long for this new chapter, I've been a little busy those past few weeks but the next and last one should be up much sooner ^^ Hope you like this one and if you do, as always I'd love a review!**

"Even if I fell asleep right now, I wouldn't even have six hours of sleep" Jemma said as she flopped down on the nearest bench, looking defeated and Fitz smiled sympathetically.

"Do you want me to get you a blanket? That bench looks comfy enough ..." He said with a small grin, trying to cheer her up but she looked up at him with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Just kidding ..." He said, feeling a bit sheepish.

"I know sorry ... It's just that I have to get up soooooo early. This night really is _the worst_!" She said and somehow it hurt him a bit. He knew it was stupid. Even though she seemed to have enjoyed their conversation, she still had a really disappointing date followed by a big stroke of bad luck and they just passed the time together in a train. He knew he shouldn't take it personally but he couldn't help it.

"Is everything alright?" She asked softly when he didn't answer for a moment. He'd never been really good at hiding how he felt or perhaps she was just really perceptive.

"Yeah yeah ... you just go me thinking about the fact that I have to get up really early as well ..." He lied. "How do you feel about sharing a cab? I guess we don't live too far from each other and at least we can split the fee" He added after a minute with a tentative smile.

"Yeah of course ... that's a very good idea!" She said after a few seconds as she got up and gave him an enthusiastic smile.

They both looked towards the same slippery stairs they used to get up to the platform and when they looked back at each other, Fitz offered his arm to her with a small smile. She didn't say a thing and just took it. He couldn't help smiling a bit wider when it seemed that she was holding on to him a bit tighter than was necessary.

"Don't get cocky ..." She said, gently rolling her eyes at him. "I'm only doing you a favor, you'll freeze to death without my body heat ..."

His smile only grew wider and she swatted his arm but there was no bite to it.

"Pfff ... only through several layers of clothes of course" She added but still leaned into him a bit more but it was the small smile on her lips that did the best job of warming him up.

-0-0-0-

It's only when they got out of the station that they realized how much it was snowing. This looked like a very calm neighborhood, there wasn't a single person or car in sight and with the snow that muffled every sound there might still have, it felt like they were alone in the world.

"Okay I'm just gonna call one, we'll freeze to death before a cab or any other car passes by!" Fitz said, taking his phone out of his pocket and trying to warm his hands with his breath before unlocking it.

"Yeah you first ..." Jemma said with a teasing tone. "How come you're not wearing at least a coat or a scarf?"

"Wasn't so cold when I got out earlier ..." He answered and she raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "... and maybe I forgot my coat at work and was too lazy to go back after the dinner that lasted forever ... and for my defense, I normally only have a five minutes walk from the train station ..." He added with a big sigh and she smiled widely.

"What? Having fun out of my misery again?" He added and her smile turned a little bit fond. His grumpy side was actually quite endearing because there really was no venom behind it and she felt like she only had to say a few words and his pretty eyes would turn soft again ... like a puppy.

"No no it's just that it's actually a bit comforting knowing someone's having as bad a night as I have ..." She said, holding on to his arm again and he turned to look at her with that warm smile that would have made her blush if her cheeks weren't already pink from the cold.

"Oh ... yeah I see what you mean ... although ..." He started but seemed to hesitate.

"What? What is it?" She asked, childishly poking his arm to encourage him to talk and he chuckled.

"Although, as bad as our situation is right now ... the end of this evening is definitely better than the beginning ... for me at least" He said, bowing his head down shyly.

"Yeah ... I see what you mean ..." She said smiling and he looked up into her eyes for a moment, smiling back with a little more confidence. Yes definitely better.

"So about this cab?"

"Still on hold, I guess we're not the only ones in need of a cab tonight ..."

"Yeah ... I'd be nice if it didn't take too long though ... It's still cold even ..."

"Ah wait ... something's happening ... music's over ... WHAT? ... oh come on!" He said hanging up the phone with the loudest sigh.

"What?" She said, stepping away from him at his slight outburst and immediately missing the little bit of warmth their closeness was creating.

"No cab available in this area for the moment, they suggest we try again later ..."

"Of course ... So what now?" She asked flatly. She didn't even have the courage to rant about it anymore.

"Well ... I think that's it, we're going to die here" He said and she chuckled. "No I'm serious Jemma, the train from hell brought us here to die and there's nothing we can do about it ..." She laughed even louder and that just seemed to spurn him on. "Actually, I think this might be the end of the world, the apocalypse happened while we were on that train and we are the only living persons left ..."

"Yeah ... and what about the train driver?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"A zombie obviously ... have you seen the way he walked?"

"Of course, a zombie makes perfect sense ..." She said and as she turned towards him to hold onto his arm again, because they were both cold not because it felt nice, she saw a light across the street. It was the neon sign of small cafe. An open cafe. It looked warm and cosy and it was beckoning her forward. "... but before you suggest we repopulate the Hearth ..."

"What? No I would never ..." He started, his cheeks going from the pinkish tint caused by the cool air to a deeper red.

"Yeah anyway ... how about we go have a coffee over there ..." She said pointing out towards the small place fittingly called Providence "... and think about our options somewhere less cold?" She finished with a satisfied smile he soon reciprocated.

"Wow ... and won't Milton be jealous that you're asking another man out for coffee?" He asked, looking quite satisfied of himself and as bad as she tried, she couldn't help smiling a bit. How come he managed to look just as cute when he was confident or really shy in the contrary. She knew him for less than an hour and this man was already much more interesting than anyone she'd dated lately.

"Well you've already eaten some of his chocolates, don't you think it's a bit late to worry about him?"

"Very good point ..." He answered trying to hide a small grin, which told her that he most likely noticed that she didn't deny the fact she was asking him out. "Shall we go then?"

-0-0-0-

"Someone's still hungry..." Jemma said with a wide grin when Fitz came back with their coffee and two huge slices of cake. "But I said ..."

"I know" He cut her off as he sat opposite her on a comfy sofa. "But it just looked too good and who knows how long we'll be here anyway? You might be hungry at some point!" He said making one of the small plates slide towards her on the table and looking like he wasn't too bothered by the idea of staying a little longer than necessary.

"Right ... well thank you for that." She said smiling softly. She would probably have ended up eating chocolates while watching the documentary she had DVRed anyway. So a slice of cake -even one as huge as this one- wouldn't be so bad. And as much as she wanted to see that documentary, the company was definitely better here.

"So ... I thought about our options and came out with ... nothing" She said with a defeated tone and he chuckled. "My only idea was to call my friend Daisy to come pick us up, she's the one who thought that, and I quote, Milton is totally my soulmate" She uttered with, once again, a terrible attempt at an american accent and he burst out laughing. "But she doesn't even own a car and she would probably not answer her phone tonight anyway ..."

"Well maybe if you threaten her with that really bad american accent, she'll be willing to find a solution ..." He answered with a teasing grin and she looked at him in mock offense.

"Oh really bad accent?"

He pretended to think about it for a second before he gave her a crooked grin and answered: "Yeah I'm afraid so ..."

"Because you think you can do better?" She answered with a defiant look in her eyes as she got a bit closer to him by leaning on the table.

"Please I can be american whenever I want to ... actually I might be a born and raised New Yorker and have fun pretending to be Scottish. .." He said with a perfect american accent and gave her a triumphant grin when she actually looked impressed.

"Well that would be too bad really ..." She started, leaning even closer to him and suddenly, he didn't look so cocky anymore. "... I always had a thing for Scottish accents ..." She finished, leaving him a little stunned as she moved back in her seat with a satisfied smile.

"Okay yeah I'm Scottish alright, I even have a kilt back home to prove it ... promise" He said, forcing his Scottish brogue a bit and she rolled her eyes in amusement. His american accent was really quite impressive but it was true that she was rather fond of his accent. It was quite charming and it sounded like home. It probably was one of the reasons it felt so easy and reassuring to talk to him. And it really had nothing to do with the fact that it came with the prettiest face she'd seen on a man in a long time. No it really didn't.

"Anyway ... I had pretty much the same idea so I called the friend who thought Emily would be bloody _perfect for me_ but of course he's not answering his phone ..." He said with an eye roll once he managed to swallow the huge piece of cake he had in his mouth.

"You're starting to wonder if your friends really know you at all, aren't you?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah ... or if they're starting to think I'm a hopeless case and are just sending any single woman my way ..." He answered sitting back in the sofa with a self deprecative laugh.

"Oh ... I didn't think of that ..." She said, feeling a bit down. Was that why Daisy fixed her up with Milton? Did she really think she was so hopeless she'd settle for anyone who barely had a few things in common with her? It was true that she didn't have a real boyfriend in two years. Since her last breakup, she'd been more cautious about who she gave a chance. It was a choice, it didn't mean she couldn't get a boyfriend if she wanted to but what was the point of starting a relationship if you know it has no future ...

She was interrupted in her thoughts by Fitz gently grabbing her hand over the table. He must have read on her face how his remark had upset her because he gave her a small apologetic smile. His hand was also a bit hesitant like he wondered if he was maybe going too far considering they'd only just met. But the gesture was sweet and it actually made her skin tingle pleasantly so she relaxed into the touch and smiled back at him.

"Hey I'm sorry Jemma, I didn't mean that for you. I'm pretty sure you don't need anyone's help to find a date ... I guess your friend is just ... hum ... well intentioned but with a really poor taste in men?" He said with a tentative smile and she chuckled.

"Yeah I guess ... And I'm sure the same goes for you ... Except you know ... it's their taste in women obviously" She answered, her little bout of insecurity quickly replaced by another much nicer feeling as he, apparently unconsciously, started to slowly rub the palm of her hand with his thumb.

"And bloody stupid too! I can't believe I let them convince me to buy a 500 dollars suit for _that_ date!"

"Well it's a bit much for _one_ date but I wouldn't say it was stupid to buy it ... you should definitely consider wearing it more often ... as often as possible actually ..." She said, blushing at her own blatant flirting. It wasn't like her to flirt so easily with someone she barely knew. But then again it wasn't everyday that she was stuck in the middle of nowhere with a stranger and no way of getting home. So if said stranger was unbearably cute, funny and apparently smart, why would she deny herself of some innocent flirting? Especially when it made him blush and thus look even more adorable.

"Oh ... well I'll-I'll remember that then ..." He answered and after hesitating for a moment, he reluctantly took his hand away from her and fished his phone out of his pocket.

"Are you actually writing it down?" She asked with a teasing smile and he squinted his eyes in annoyance but was not able to keep a straight face for long.

"I'm texting my friend, and facebooking him, and whatsapping him in the hope he'll take pity on us and come pick us up before morning ... Not-not that I'm not having a surprisingly good time in this surprisingly nice place but you know ... work and everything!"

"Yeah I know what you mean ..." She said with a reassuring smile.

"Hey I like your phone, I've never seen one like it before. Is it a new brand?" She said and she was genuinely interested. Even though it wasn't really her field, she always closely followed innovations in the field of new technology and Fitz's phone looked different from anything she's ever seen.

"No ... it's hum ... it's not actually out yet, it's a prototype I'm testing. See it's super resistant ..." He said and raised his arm to let it fall to the tiled floor to prove his point. She couldn't help the small gasp that came out of her mouth but the phone did look intact. "... it has a few other useful features but mostly it has a whole new modified battery that should last at least a month" He finished, smiling proudly.

"Wow ... the suit, the accents and now the cool gadgets ... Are you actually a spy?" She asked with a mischievous smile.

"Well the closest to a spy I'll ever be ... I'm an engineer and ... if it works, this phone is to be used by a few governmental agencies including SHIELD" He said with a small bashful smile.

"Oh ... so you actually made this?" She asked, her eyes widening both in surprise and delight.

"Yeah I did ..." He answered blushing a bit.

Really Daisy? Was it really hard to find _him_ instead of Milton? Young adorable Scottish Tony Stark was walking the streets of New York and living in her neighborhood and everything Daisy could come up was Milton? Jemma thought to herself as she studied the man facing her. It's not like New York is such a big city.

-0-0-0-

"So who pays you to make really cool phones, Fitz?" She asked still smiling widely. She really did seem interested in what he was doing. Which was already an improvement on Emily who told him she didn't want to talk about work when it was quite probably the only thing they had in common.

"I work at Stark industries ... I'm chief engineer there" He answered feeling like the woman facing him, even though he didn't know much about her, would know it was actually quite the dream job. Her reaction told him he was right.

"Wow Fitz, that's amazing ... so you really are a younger Scottish less obnoxious Tony Stark?" She said with a wide smile he was quick to reciprocate. A spy and now Tony Stark, she really did know how to flatter his ego. "... but, and don't take this the wrong way because it's really quite impressive, but aren't you a bit young to be chief engineer?" She asked, unconsciously leaning in closer to him.

"Well I'm 26 ..."

"Okay you might be a little older than you look but that's still impressive" She said and he chuckled.

"Well I've been working there for almost six years but I only got promoted a year ago so ..." He started but she cut him off.

"Six years but that means you had your engineering degree at ..."

"Got my PHD at 18, yeah ..." He said a little bashfully and her reaction was kind of surprising. Most people were impressed or intimated or even incredulous but they were rarely amused. Didn't she believe him? "What? Don't you ..."

"Nothing, it's just that I got mine at 19 ..." She said and a smile started to make its way on his face. "... my second one" She added with a small grin and now he felt impressed ... and delighted.

"Wow ... just ... wow. Wha-what field are you working in?" He asked and she seemed just as delighted as he was.

"Biochemistry"

"Nice ... that's yeah ... really nice!" He said, leaning in closer to her on the table as much as he could without it looking weird. She really did have lovely sparkling eyes.

"So when I said you were smart, that was actually quite the understatement, right?" She said and they both chuckled.

"Well I guess I am ... just slightly less than you are apparently ..." He answered with a mischievous smile.

"Nah ... I just loved homework more than life ..." She said with a small smile, putting her hand on his tentatively. The movement caused his eyes to look down at their hands. They fitted pretty well together. And the touch of her skin made his heart beat a little faster in a really nice way. When he looked back up, she was looking at him with a soft smile on her lips. Her pretty plump and pink lips that looked so kissable.

For a moment they stayed like this, looking at each other, their faces really close and he wondered if maybe she was waiting for him to make a move and actually kiss her. Was he crazy for thinking that a woman he met an hour ago wanted him to kiss her? He knew he had qualities that made him attractive to some women but it usually took them time to see those qualities. But then again Jemma was obviously different from anyone he's ever met so could it be that ... But before he had the time to decide if he wanted to take the risk, his phone bipped, he broke eye contact and the moment passed.

"Just a spam text" He said when he looked back up at her and she nodded with a soft smile. He could swear there was also a hint of disappointment in her eyes and a slight blush on her cheeks. So was she actually waiting for him to kiss her?

See Hunter, that's how a date is supposed to go, he thought to himself. And it wasn't even a date. Really, how hard was it to find Jemma instead of Emily? It's not like New York is such a big city anyway!

-0-0-0-

"So?"

"Wait ... nope still no taxi ... I guess we're stuck here!" He said, trying not to smile too much at the idea of spending more time with her, which was hard because she did a really poor job of trying to look disappointed as well. In the back of his mind, he knew he might think differently when he has to wake up to get ready for work in a few hours but right now, this was the most thrilling "not date" he's had in a really long time and he was in no rush of ending it.

"Yeah it's a shame really ..." She said, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling too wide. "You know I actually work really close to Stark Industries?" She said and after a second's hesitation, finally took a bite out of her cake. "Mmmh this is really good!"

"Told you ..." He answered with a small grin. "So where do you work?"

"SciTech, just across the street ... I might even see your office from my window." She said and he smiled thinking he should definitely spend more time watching out the window from now on.

"Oh wow ... so we live in the same neighborhood, we work in the same neighborhood and yet ..."

"We've never met a single time! Pretty weird right?" She finished for him and he nodded. "I mean what are the chances?"

"Well we can try and find out ... shouldn't be too hard between the two of us ..." He answered with a widening grin and she soon reciprocated it.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure we could ... maybe another time though, I'm really exhausted ..." She said with a softening smile and couldn't help noticing she was suggesting they see each other again, voluntarily.

"I'll gather the data then and ... wait wait wait I think I ... Have you ever been to Coulson's cafe just around the corner from Stark's tower?" He said as he suddenly had a flash of realization about Jemma.

"Yeah quite often actually, they serve good tea and amazing scones, have you already tried ..." She started but he cut her off with wide eyes and an amused smile.

"Oh my god you're the scone stealing lady!" He cried out and she looked at him with an outraged expression.

"What? I would never ..."

"No I do not mean literally stealing. It's just that I get those for breakfast pretty much every day but when I get there on monday, they're always sold out and the owner told me a pretty British young lady always comes on monday and buys everything they have left. He kept telling me to try and come earlier to get one or at least to ..." He hesitated at telling her the other thing Phil always told him but now that he'd started, he might as well finish. "... see her 'cause she was really beautiful and we'd probably get along fine considering we have the same taste in tea and pastries!" He finished and she tilted her head with a fond smile.

"Oh wow ..."

"So it's really you right?" He asked, hopeful.

"Yeah I always buy scones for my whole team on monday, makes me feel less guilty about eating one myself ... so how come you never came earlier to meet me?" She said and he was emboldened by the fact that she seemed to find that it would have been an excellent idea.

"Well this is going to sound really stupid but Phil kept saying this woman was my soulmate and of course I don't believe in that but ... I kinda liked the idea and I was afraid i'd be disappointed if she wasn't as good as she seemed ... Now I see how stupid I was ..." He said, bumping his forehead on his hand to make his point and she chuckled.

"Well a little stupid maybe but also kind of ... romantic" She said, brushing her hand against his on the table and his eyes shot up.

"It's been at least two year ... that'll teach me for being such a chicken ..."

"Well, if at least you finally decided to do it last Monday, you could have saved us both from Milton and Emily ..." She added with a meaningful smile as her hand was now firmly resting on his own and he felt his heart beating faster again.

"Do you mean that you-you would have gone out on a date with me?"

"Mmmmh well ... the suit could have helped but I might have given you a chance anyway ... do you know how rare it is to find someone with such good taste?" She said with a flirtatious smile and he thought his heart might beat out of his chest if she kept looking at him like that. But in the meantime, it was kind of intoxicating and he didn't really want it to end.

"So if I asked you out on a date now, would you ..."

"I would ..."

It's only when he finally looked into her eyes and saw that she was looking at him with an amused and slightly expectant look that he realized she was actually waiting for him to ask her the question.

"Oh ... of course ... hu Jemma?"

"Yes Fitz?" She answered, her smile getting a little wider now.

"Would you like to go on a date with me? Soon? Somewhere nice ... probably closer to where we live?" She was now smiling as wide as it was possible. His awkwardness sometimes made him feel really stupid but she didn't seem to care. Actually, it looked like she was amused if not charmed by it. Bobbi might finally be right after all, some women actually _dig the whole cute and shy thing_. And she was not just any woman.

"I'd love that" She finally answered and only then did he realize that he'd been holding on to her hand really tight and released the pressure a bit.

-0-0-0-

For the next two hours or so, they kept on talking, going from one subject to the other effortlessly and with never a moment of silence. When most men would usually start to grow bored and try to change the subject, Fitz always wanted to know more. He listened to her respectfully but was also able to contradict her and have real passionate discussions even when it came to subjects as trivial as Doctor Who or which was the most fascinating species of monkeys.

They tried calling a taxi one more time but after that, they kind of abandoned the idea. It wasn't completely intentional as they really lost track of time while they were talking but if she was being completely honest, Jemma did think about it a few times. But since Fitz didn't mention it himself, she didn't either because she didn't really feel like going home now. She was already exhausted anyway and even if she caught a taxi right this moment, she would get three hours of sleep at best and all things considered, spending them with Fitz having the most interesting conversation she's ever had with anyone seemed much more appealing.

When Fitz was hungry again (really how he could look so fit when his diet seemed to consist mostly of sugar and fat was beyond her) and the cafe was out of that delicious chocolate cake they got earlier, Jemma came to sit next to him so they could munch on Milton's chocolate discreetly. And if she could take this opportunity to take advantage of his body heat in the meantime, why deny herself?

"Those are really good ..." He said before choosing another one and putting it in his mouth. "... but I do feel a bit guilty eating the chocolates another man offered to the woman who must have broken his heart" He added, the grin on his face contradicting his words.

"Well I offered to give them back since I would obviously not see him again but he insisted and I didn't want to offend him. I mean he's extremely boring but he's really nice ..."

"Ouch ... nice ..." He interrupted her, wincing. "That's hard ..."

"But he is nice ..."

"I believe you but still, if you have nothing better to say about him, it's really not a good sign ..." He added with a small grin.

"And are _you_ going to complain about it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No no nope, no complaint from me" He said with a small grin as he stretched his arms and very obviously put one on the back of the sofa and thus almost encircling her shoulders and she chuckled. With anyone else, it would have been really lame and ridiculous, with him it was cute and as old school as it was, it felt just as nice and kind of thrilling as when her first boyfriend did that when she was sixteen.

"At least he does have good taste in chocolate ... even if it's the least original gift he could have gotten you ..."

"Oh really?" She said, sitting back into the sofa, her face turned towards him and her head lightly resting on his arm. "You think you would have done better?" She added with a tone of defiance and he turned a bit more towards her with a delighted smile on his face.

"Of course I would have! How much did he know about you?"

"My name, my job, what I looked like, the fact that I'm British and that's pretty much it I think ... Can you come up with anything better and within a reasonable budget?"

"Mmmh let me think ..." He said as he gently started to draw tiny circles on her shoulder with the tips of his fingers. The touch was light and only moderately inappropriate considering they barely knew each other but it still felt nice and soothing. If they remained silent for a little longer, she could have easily fallen asleep and it's only when he cried out, startling her a bit, that she realized how her head was now fully resting on his arm.

"I know! There's this exhibit about the last advancements in biotechnology that's in New York at the moment. I've heard only good things about it. Could be interesting for the both of us and if I was as boring as good old Milton, that would give us something to talk about at dinner. And if say you didn't want to do anything else than dinner because you're wearing highly uncomfortable shoes ..." He started and she swatted his arm with a gentle eye-roll. "... I would probably offer you one of my favorite books ... again it would give us something to talk about and with a little luck, you'd like it enough to call me back so we could talk about it ..." He finished with a bashful smile.

"And what book would that be?" She asked, trying to hide how much she was impressed by how good his ideas were, especially since it only took him a minute to find them.

"Mmhmh ... I guess something by Terry Pratchett from the Discworld Series ... Have you read some of them?" He answered as an enthusiastic smile made its way on his face at the simple evocation of his favorite author. God, he was adorable.

"Arghh Fitz!" She cried out, punching his shoulder.

"Hey! What did I do wrong?" He asked, looking a bit offended and instinctively rubbing his shoulder like she actually hurt him.

"Why did you never go to Coulson earlier?!" She said with a slightly annoyed tone but a smile still made its way on Fitz's face as he realized why she was mad.

"Oh ... so these were ... good ideas?" He asked with an hopeful look.

"Of course they are, both of them ... they're really sweet and sensible ideas ... and I love those books" She said, her smile getting softer, momentarily stunned by the intensity of his blue eyes until she had to stifle a yawn.

"Sorry ... I'm really exhausted ..." She said, her voice a little sleepy.

He looked at her with a tender smile for a moment and seemed to be debating with himself over something until he tentatively wrapped his arm around her shoulder a little tighter, inviting to rest her head into the crook of his shoulder. Which she did without giving it a second thought, and it felt so nice that she actually let out a small contented sigh. For her defense, she told herself, it had been a while since she'd received any kind of affection from a man and she was so cold and tired that the idea of taking a nap in his arms was even more tempting than his lips had been earlier.

"That's alright ..." He said, gently rubbing her shoulder and she could already feel herself falling asleep. Was she crazy for falling asleep in the arms of a complete stranger? "You should call in sick tomorrow ... that's what I'm gonna do!"

"I can't do that ... I'm-I'm not sick ..." She said, her words starting to slow down and he couldn't help smiling at how adorable she was.

"Oh come on, you're telling you never called in sick after a bad hangover or something?" He asked with a teasing tone.

"No ... that wouldn't be professional ..."

"Wow ... I bet you never skipped school either ..." He said and she tried to swat his arm but didn't have the force so she just groaned which made him laugh. "You do love homework more than life!" He added and this time she did swat his arm but it was so weak that he barely felt it and only brought an even bigger smile to his face.

He tightened his arm around her even more so she could snuggle more comfortably against him and as her eyes were closing, he tilted his own head so it rested on top of her and laid a very delicate kiss on her hair. "You can rest a bit, I'll try and get us a taxi in a moment" He said, his voice low and incredibly soft and she couldn't help thinking how nice it would be to fall asleep to that sound every night surrounded by the amazing smell of his cologne.


	4. Chapter 4

**And this is the last chapter! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks a lot to everyone who followed and reviewed and now I'm going to start a new longer story to compensate for the lack of AoS in the next few weeks!**

Twenty minutes later, Fitz finally managed to have someone on the phone and a taxi sent to their location. The snow had finally stopped falling outside but it was still extremely cold so when they got out of the cafe, it's almost naturally that they hung on to each other while they waited for the taxi to arrive. She had just spent twenty minutes sleeping in his arms and he had just spent twenty minutes watching how pretty and adorable she was, so there really was no reason to be shy anymore.

When the taxi arrived, they got in and once they gave the directions, she got closer to him and the tilt of her head and shy sleepy smile were enough for him to understand what she wanted and he was happy to comply. He put his arm around her shoulder and she resumed her previous position with a small contended sigh which made him grin happily.

"You know ... I think I'm gonna have to thank Daisy after all ..." She said, her voice a little muffled.

"Yeah?"

"Definitely ..." She answered and he smiled wider. He didn't need her explaining. He'd been thinking the same for the past few hours. It had clearly been worth spending the three most boring hours of his life with Emily to finally get to meet Jemma on the way home.

The rest of the ride was spent in companionable silence. Fitz was happy just being in her presence, especially when she was so close to him but he also felt a little nervous as they were nearing their destination. Even though he felt like from the way she flirted and snuggled against him and actually suggested that he ask her out a date, that she was attracted to him to some extent, the date still had to be planned. After all, it was late and she was exhausted, she might change her mind about the whole thing once she's had a proper night's sleep.

Once they arrived, they paid the driver and got out of the car. It didn't really come as a surprise when they realized that not only did they live in the same neighborhood, they also lived in the same street and Jemma's building was close enough that he could probably see it from his window.

"So it's been ... surprisingly nice" He said with a bashful smile as they stood on the sidewalk.

"Yeah it really was" She answered, smiling back, looking just as hesitant as he was. They'd been talking each other's ears off for the past hours and suddenly they were incapable of saying goodbye properly. Probably because, as tired as he was, he didn't really feel like saying goodbye now.

"So hum I was wondering if you ... I mean you said you would go but hum ... do you think-could you maybe give me your ..."

"Fitz, is ..."

"breakfast!" He finally cried out and winced at how his mouth seemed to spit out every word that passed through his brain without putting them in an understandable order.

"You want me to give you my breakfast?" She teased with an half-amused, half-confused smile.

"No sorry ... let me start over. I wanted to ask your phone number so we could organize this date ... if you still want to ... but then I changed my mind ... I mean no ... I didn't change my mind, I still want your number ... obviously ... but I also thought we could get breakfast before going our separate ways." He said a little breathlessly and she smiled fondly.

"Of course I still want to ..." She said, reaching into her purse to give him her business card. "... and where do you want to get breakfast at this hour?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There's this small bakery just around the corner, it opens insanely early so we could give it a try ... What do you think?"

She seemed to give it a thought and after a moment, she took his arm again and gave him a warm smile. He smiled back widely and started walking. As he wondered how many more reasons he could come up with to make this night last, he thought that whatever happened now, he would definitely have to thank Hunter and Bobbi.

-0-0-0-

"God it smells amazing!" She said as they approached the bakery who looked like it was just opening. His own face seemed to brighten at the smell of it and that made her smile even wider.

"And it's really good too but I almost never get to buy something, when I walk past it every morning, there's always an insanely long line and I never have the time!" He answered, rolling his eyes.

"You could wake up a bit earlier ..." She teased as they stopped in front of it and he looked at her with a smirk.

"Well ... maybe I'll try ... I never thought there was a good enough reason for that ... until tonight" He flirted and she grinned at him.

Once they got in, she had to admit that everything also _looked_ really good. Most of it was also still warm from the oven and even though she wasn't really hungry to begin with and agreed to have breakfast only to spend a little more time with him, it was all really tempting but she knew she couldn't eat more than one pastry and it would be hard to choose. Fitz on the other hand, didn't have the same problem.

"Will you judge me if I get two ... or three?" He asked with a slightly embarrassed smile and she couldn't help laughing.

"of course not ... I don't want you to starve!" She smirked and even the baker waiting for them to choose had to stifle a laugh. "You'll have to explain to me how you do it though ..." She added and he looked at her a little confused. "... live mostly on sugar and look like ... that" She added gesturing towards his entire slender silhouette and he shot her a bright amused smile.

"I'm sleep deprived, I need to compensate ... and I guess I have a fast metabolism ..." He said and she gave him a fake disgusted look.

"So not even a bit of cardio to burn the calories?"

"Depends on what you call cardio ..." He grinned and she looked at him in mock-offense at the possible sexual innuendo. "I meant running to catch a train of course ..." He added, grinning even wider and she rolled her eyes. And now the idea of helping him burn those calories was making its way inside her brain and she blushed at the _interesting_ images it was conjuring. Hopefully the temperature difference between the bakery and outside was enough to explain her rosy cheeks convincingly.

"Well whatever it's just ... outrageous. Some of us have to run an hour to get rid of the calories of only one of those you know ..." She said, crossing her arms on her chest with what she hoped was a severe look and he also tried his best to look a little contrite.

"Is it a little better if I pay for it?" He asked with a tentative smile and she couldn't help smiling back.

"I guess ... at least I won't have to _pay_ for it twice ..." She conceded. "Or you could help me burn those calories later ..." She added to herself, biting her lip to stop her smile from splitting her face in two.

Once they finally made up their minds, the older man behind the counter wrapped what they bought - a croissant for Jemma, two for Fitz who decided to be _reasonable_ \- in a small paper bag and handed it to Fitz with a small fond smile.

"You two make a lovely couple!" He said and just as Fitz was trying to mumble something about the fact that they're not a couple and they only just met, she cut him off with a simple "Thank you" and a beaming smile as she took his hand to lead them out.

Once out of the bakery, she turned towards him to see him look back at her with a comically raised eyebrow he'd probably been sporting for the last thirty seconds and she burst out laughing.

"What?" She said once she managed to catch her breath. "It was easier to say thank you than to spend ten minutes explaining how we met don't you think?" She added and he raised another eyebrow. "And we do look quite lovely don't you think?" She finished, looking at him through her lashes with a flirtatious smile and he finally grinned at her.

"Yeah ... I've been told I look quite handsome in this suit ..." He answered, waggling his eyebrows this time. She rolled her eyes at him but she had to admit that even now that the suit was even more disheveled than when she first saw him, he was very attractive. If anything, it made him look less like a spy and even more like the member of a rock band in a music video and it brought back her not so far teenage fantasies to her mind. "And you are quite lovely yourself ... I mean how do you look so fresh after the night we've had?" He added as he put his arm around her shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world and she gave him a coquettish smile.

"Healthy lifestyle ..." She said, raising a knowing eyebrow at him and he chuckled. "... and I got my beauty nap earlier!" She added, slipping her arm around his waist and enjoying how it did a pretty good job of shielding her from the wind.

"Yeah well ... I didn't and I would die for a cup or coffee right now, I hoped they'd have some at the bakery ..." He said with a sigh.

For a moment, she debated with herself. He was a stranger she'd only met a few hours ago. But then again, he looked about just as dangerous as a puppy and he was a perfect gentleman when she fell asleep in his arms. If he was a dangerous serial killer, he could have killed her several times already, right? But mostly she had to resolve her current dilemma: she wanted to go home and be somewhere warm and take her shoes off more than anything but she also really didn't want to say goodbye even if she was quite positive he would use her number to call her real soon anyway.

"I have coffee at home ..." She finally said tentatively and he looked at her with wide eyes and a small grin tugging at his lips. "And by coffee ... I just mean coffee!" She added with a small grin of her own.

"You mean that tea is off the table then?" He asked with an innocent smile and she chuckled.

"I guess tea is a possibility, even hot chocolate ..." She added with a sly grin. She had no idea why she smiled like that or what kind of hidden meaning tea or chocolate could have but her smile was apparently enough to make him blush and her smile turned fond as she started walking to lead them towards her building.

"God, I can't wait to take these stupid shoes off ..." She said as they were waiting at the walkway.

"I don't know why you bother really ... you'd be just as beautiful with a good old pair of DrMartens or Converse ..." He said and she swooned at how he complimented her without even thinking about it.

"Converse?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"if it's cool enough for The Doctor, it's cool enough for me ..." He answered and she chuckled.

"That's a really good point ..."

"So men really don't care about high heels shoes? It's all just an excuse for us to buy hundreds of pairs every year and torture ourselves with it?" She asked and it was his time to chuckle.

"Well some men do I guess ... but I'm not really on the tall side myself so ..."

"You're still taller than me even with those shoes ..." She answered just as she slipped on a bit of snow that was turning to ice and he caught her just in time. "Thank you ..." She said with a warm smile and held on to him even tighter.

"Well that's because you're tiny ..."

"Hey!" She said as she poked him in the stomach, which just made him laugh. "I'm barely below average in size ..." She added.

"Please, I could carry you in my pocket ..." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"Pfff ... I'll have you know I'm very well muscled ... I'm heavier than I look ..." She said and she couldn't help the tone of defiance in her voice.

"Oh yeah?"

"Hmhmh ..."

When he suddenly stopped walking as they were only a few meters away from her building's entrance, she looked at him with a confused smile. Did he change his mind about coming in for coffee? But then he looked at her from head to toe with a small grin that made her blush slightly and as she was just about to ask what he was doing, he took a step forward, gently encircled her waist with one arm and bent over to lift her from the ground. She ended up in his arms with him carrying her bridal style and she couldn't help the choked but quite delighted shriek that came out of her mouth.

"Fitz!" She said swatting his chest with one hand while the other instinctively went behind his neck to remain steady.

"See? Light as a feather ..." He said as he started walking towards her building again.

"Fiiiitz, come on, put me down ..." She said, the tone of her voice and her bouts of laughter contradicting her words.

"Nope ... no one should walk in those shoes anyway ... especially in this weather" he said as he stopped just long enough for her to unlock the door to the building.

Once inside, he walked to the elevator and let her press the button. As they waited for it to come down, he turned his face towards her with a smile so soft that all fake anger disappeared from her face and she couldn't help reciprocating it.

"This is alright though?" He asked. "Because I don't want to ... and you don't look like you really mind but if ..."

"This is perfectly alright ..." She cut him off and on impulse gave a quick kiss on the cheek. Officially she would say that she really doesn't need a man to carry her and she can completely assume her bad choice of shoes but really, being in his arms definitely was a nice sensation. Also it didn't hurt that it worked quite well with the whole music video fantasy.

-0-0-0-

"God this feels amazing ... You're really ... good at this ..." She said, not able to stop the small moan that came out of her mouth as he touched another sensitive spot.

"Told you ..." He said, grinning widely at the reaction he was getting from her.

"If my mum knew I let a stranger in my apartment and let him do that to me ..." She teased, not able to completely keep the slight breathlessness out of her voice.

"But we're not complete strangers anymore ... and anyway it's nothing shameful ... people pay for that you know, even good girls like you ..." He answered and she chuckled. "Okay ... I think I'm done here, give me the other one ..." He said and she very willingly extended her other leg onto his lap for him to start massaging her other foot.

"Still, it's really nice of you ... almost makes it worth wearing those really mean shoes all evening! But really you didn't have to do that just because I invited you in for coffee ..." She said with a fond smile.

"Oh it's nothing really ..." He lied. Actually it was a lot but not like she might think. Even though she probably had nice feet, he was never especially attracted to feet, but the effect it had on her, now that was something else ... Her breathless voice and the small contented -or was it pleasured- noises she let out ... it drove his mind to very pleasant although quite embarrassing places.

"So are you really going to work today?" He asked in a bid to take his mind off those ideas before it got _really_ embarrassing.

"Yeah ... I don't know ... maybe not ..." She answered in a slightly sleepy voice and he grinned at her.

"Come on ... join the dark side Jemma ..." He said trying to make his voice sound low and mysterious, which only made her giggle.

"I guess ... I suppose I could use a day off to answer my emails and clean up the apartment a bit, I mean it's such a mess, I haven't had time to ..."

"No no no ..." He cut her off. "First of all, this apartment is so neat it's probably cleaner than an hospital and second of all, you should use this day to rest, have fun, do nothing productive like watching DVDs all day or something ..." He added and she looked at him with an amused smile. _"...or we could maybe burn all those calories together ..."_ He said to himself, blushing. _"God ... What am I? 15? Can't have the smallest dirty thought without blushing like a schoolgirl."_

"is this your idea of a date? Cause I thought you said you could do better than that ..." She said, swallowing another small moan as he focused on another sensitive spot on her foot and he couldn't help grinning.

"You _know_ it would still be better than a date with Milton ... and tell you what? You call in sick, get some rest and then I'll take you on the date of your life time tonight ..."

"That's tempting ..." She said, looking like she was debating with herself again. She really needed to stop overthinking everything. "Okay fine I'll do it ..." She said with an enthusiastic and slightly childish smile.

"The beginning of a criminal career ..." He teased and she poked his stomach with her foot.

"Hey! You know your foot is at my mercy right? I could tickle you to death if you do that again ..." He said with a tone of defiance in his voice.

"You wouldn't ..." She grinned as she poked his stomach again.

-0-0-0-

"Okay I should really stand up now ... I need to go home, take a shower, get some rest ..."

"Yeah that'd probably be wise ..." She answered, not taking her head away from his shoulder.

"But I'm stuck ... as much as my brain wants to go, my body keeps reminding me how nice and warm it is here and how cold it is outside ..." He said, letting his eyes close for a second and enjoying the nice flowery smell of her hair.

"I understand ... the sole idea of going out now ... you'd have to be really brave to do it ..." She added, snuggling even closer to him. He had his arm around her shoulder again and now that she was home, she couldn't find any reason not to fall asleep in his arms again. She knew it was a bit selfish because he probably needed to get home but she wasn't going to insist if he was so reluctant himself.

"I blame you and your ... body heat and your evil magical sofa ..." He said and she chuckled. She wouldn't mind sharing a little more body heat actually. With a few _less_ layers of clothes this time.

"Oh yes, I have a long history of falling asleep on this couch ..."

"Lucky him ..." He said and she grinned widely.

They remained like that for a moment, just enjoying each other's presence and just when she thought he might have fallen asleep, she felt his head slightly turn towards her and she looked up so their eyes were now locked on each other's. There was an intensity and in the same time an incredible softness in those eyes that made her heart melt a bit. Somehow, when he looked at her like that, it felt like they'd shared more than an evening of bad luck, that however irrational it was somehow they shared a bond deeper than that.

His eyes drifted to her lips for a second and hers did the same. When she looked back up, he had a small smile on his lips and she smiled back before they both finally closed the remaining distance between them and pressed their lips against each other. It only lasted a few seconds and was just as soft and tender as she thought it would be but when they broke the kiss, he immediately captured her lips again with more passion this time. She turned more fully towards him and the hand that was on her shoulder moved to her neck and into her hair and it felt so nice that she let out a small moan. She felt him smile against her mouth and her competitive side took over for a moment. She tugged at his lip and pressed herself more fully against him before deepening the kiss. This time, he was the one who sighed against her lips and she was the one to smile.

Their kisses were just like the conversations they'd had all night, an effortless, easy and passionate exchange she felt like she could never get tired of. Suddenly, she wasn't so tired anymore, so she let her hand wander into his hair like she wanted to do all night and they both let themselves drown into the sweetness of those sensations.

-0-0-0-

"Well that was scary ... and kind of exciting too" Jemma said with the biggest smile on her face.

"Can't believe you'd never done that before ..." He said, lazily stroking her arm that was sprawled over his chest.

"I never felt like it until now ... you made quite a compelling case I must say ..." She said, looking up from where her face was nestled in the crook of his shoulder and giving him a soft kiss on the lips. "I mean how am I supposed to get up and go to work now knowing that you ... and your lips would stay home and rest all day ..." She added as she extended her hand to put her phone on the coffee table next to the sofa. Somehow during their snogging session, they ended up lying down on the couch, their limbs all tangled in each other until air became a necessity and they decided to rest for a bit, happy to just be in each other's arms for a time.

"Well me and my lips couldn't be happier that you don't have to leave this sofa for now ..." He answered, capturing her lips again in a much more heated kiss. He didn't think he would ever get tired of this. Jemma's passion for science apparently also reflected on other aspects of her life. From the first moment their lips touched, it felt like electricity was coursing through their bodies. The reactions she was having to his kisses and caresses would have been enough to make all of this enjoyable to him but the way she kissed him and scraped his skull and neck with her fingers was driving him the very good kind of crazy.

"Hmhmmh" Jemma said when they broke the kiss. "And you know i didn't have to invent an excuse, I just said I was sick and they took it for granted!" She said with an amused smiled he found unbearably adorable.

"That's because you're such a good girl, they'd never doubt your sincerity ..." He teased.

"Except I'm not, I'm on the dark side now and it's exciting!" She said, straightening a bit on the couch. "I feel like getting into some other bad girl shenanigans like ... doing a prank to my upstairs neighbor who's always so loud or leaving a restaurant without paying or ..."

"Hey calm down Al Capone!" He teased and she swatted his chest. "And anyway you're supposed to be sick, you should spend the day at home, you don't want to stumble onto someone from work, do you?" He said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"That's a fair point I guess ..." She said and after a moment, a mischievous smile made its way on her face. "Then what kind of bad girl shenanigans can I get myself into while staying at home?" She said, slowly running her fingers down his chest.

"Very good question Jemma and I'm glad you asked. You know I kind of have the reputation of a bad boy ..." He said, grinning and she couldn't help laughing at how utterly ridiculous and adorable it was at the same time. "Kissing me some more could definitely be considered bad girl shenanigans" He finished as he sat up a little straighter as well to face her.

"Oh yeah? And who ever called you a bad boy?" She asked, getting even closer.

"Well first there's me and ..." He was cut off by Jemma kissing hard on the lips one more time but from the way he immediately kissed her back and pressed himself against her, he didn't seem to mind.

This time they didn't stop at kissing though. Soon her hands went for his tie and the buttons of his shirt as he divested her of the cardigan she had slipped on as they got to her apartment. After several glorious minutes of this, she pushed herself off of him a bit and grinned at the pitiful whine he let out at the loss of contact. But it soon turned into a grin as she stood up and offered him her hand with a lascivious smile. Of course he didn't hesitate and soon they were kissing again while blindingly making their way towards Jemma's bedroom.

She broke contact for a second to open the door and when she looked back to him, she couldn't help smiling widely. He was quite the sight to behold with his open shirt, flustered skin, brilliant blue eyes and blinding smile. He was definitely living up to her fantasies. She also noticed how his curls were now a complete mess after she'd spent so much time with her hands in it and it just made him look that much cuter.

"What?" He said and she realized she must have been staring for too long.

"Nothing it's just ..." She started as she got closer and put her hands behind his neck and in his hair again. "I'm sorry but look at you ... you're way too adorable to be a bad boy!" She teased.

"Oh yeah?" He said, sliding his arms around her waist. "i'll show you adorable!" He said, suddenly lifting her up from the floor and walking into the bedroom with a delighted giggling Jemma in his arms.

-0-0-0-

Jemma woke up several hours later to the annoying sound of her constantly beeping and buzzing phone. She very reluctantly got out of bed , went to the living room, took her phone where she left it on the coffee table and came back to her room having barely opened her eyes. She sighed happily as she was welcomed by the warmth of her bed and Fitz's body. Once comfortably snuggled against him, she finally opened her eyes and took a look at her phone to see why it was making so much noise.

For a moment, she panicked a bit when she saw that she had one missed call and seven text messages from Daisy ... until she remembered she was just very nosy and probably only wanted to know how the date went and why she wasn't at work that day. Of course, her guess was verified when she started to open the texts.

(From Daisy to Jemma: Hey, you never told me how last night went with Milton)

(From Daisy to Jemma: Didn't get news from Milton either. Is it a good sign? ? ? ?)

(From Daisy to Jemma: So you took a sick for the first time ever ... things must have gone really well ... )

(From Daisy to Jemma: Come on I'm dying here, give me something)

(From Daisy to Jemma: Unless you're really sick ...)

(From Daisy to Jemma: Do you want me to bring you soup?)

(From Daisy to Jemma: Please just tell me how it went, anything or I'll come by to grill you after work)

For a moment, Jemma was tempted to just turn off her phone and let her friend wait for a few more hours. That would serve her well for fixing her up on the worst date she's ever had. But then she remembered that without said date, she would never have met Fitz and that would have really been a shame. Also she really didn't want her interrupting her plans for the day. The thought made her eyes turn to Fitz. He was still sound asleep next to her which was understandable after such an exhausting night. He looked so peaceful and angelic surrounded in her white fluffy pillows and bed sheets that she felt a wave of tenderness surround her. That coupled with the nice smell of his shirt she had stolen to get out of bed made her feel completely infatuated with him. She'd never felt like that for anyone after knowing them for less than a day and she really hoped he would remain in her life much longer than that.

"God I hope you're as good as you you seem to be!" She whispered to his sleeping face.

Memories of a few hours before came back to her in flashes and she smiled fondly at it. Once they got into her bedroom, things definitely started to heat up as they divested each other of most of their clothes. His hands roamed all over her body with a softness and dexterity that drove her the very good kind of crazy but after a time, the exhaustion of the day and night finally caught up to them. Their movements were starting to get slower so they decided that it would be best to finally get some well earned rest and resume those activities later. He'd gently kissed her one last time before taking her in his arms and falling asleep with a smile on his face. If the amazingly sweet feeling of sleeping with him was anything to go by, _sleeping_ with him promised to be a very pleasant experience that was definitely part of her plans for the day.

He still smiled the same way he did when he fell asleep and with his hair now an even bigger mess, he looked just too irresistible so she extended her neck and laid a soft kiss on his lips. It didn't wake him up but it made him smile even wider in his sleep and instinctively bring her closer to him. The unconscious gesture made her already mushy heart melt completely as she was reminded of this adorable video of a cat hugging his baby having a nightmare. Yes, she definitely stood by what she said earlier, he was absolutely adorable. And it was good because bad boys were never her type anyway!

(From Jemma to Daisy: It went better than you can imagine ...)

(From Jemma to Daisy: Don't bring soup!)


End file.
